


I'm your boss's boss's boss

by imagining_love



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:33:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14708321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagining_love/pseuds/imagining_love
Summary: Following the peer review, Hughes regrets yelling at the Fire Chief and tries to make amends.





	1. Forced apology

**Author's Note:**

> I know crackship, ahoy! In 1x08, I loved that Hughes and Ripley interaction and wished for a MeredithxMcDreamy S1 situation, where the newbie gets involved with the boss.  
> Contain's spoilers from the finale.

"I'm your boss's boss's boss" the words still rang in Victoria's head days after the peer review with the Fire Chief. 

She knows she screwed up. She should have talked objectively instead of pissing off the only man she should not piss off. 

She talked it over with her family and friends if she should apologize. 

"Ripley is tough, but fair" Pruitt ensured her that he will not halt her career out of spite. Yet Hughes could still feel he is holding back something he wants to say. 

"What?" Hughes asked feeling defeated. 

"He's not an easy man to get any type of reaction from. And you did." Her former boss shook his head, remembering the days he went into arguments with Ripley who always stayed cool, calm and collected. Among the captain, they called him Sub-zero. 

"See, Ripley started from the bottom. He knows all the intricacies of the job. A man in his position's weakness is knowing the people that work under him. Yet he makes a tremendous effort. Do you know why he did the peer reviews instead of Franklin?" 

Hughes shook her head. 

"Franklin was rooting for Jack, so Ripley placed himself in her role to eliminate bias from the process. He's a busy man, but makes time for his people. That’s something special." 

"Should I go to his office and apologize? 

"It will take more than apologizing to change his mind." Pruitt withdrew himself, wanting for Victoria Hughes to find the solution to her predicament on her own. 

So there was Victoria Hughes, waiting in her car outside the head quarter office with two letters. One is a handwritten apology and the other is her peer review. She knew he might chuck it out, but that’s a start. She went into the office and asked the secretary if she can deliver this envelope personally to the Chief. 

"He's busy at the moment" the secretary apologized and offered to take it in her stead. 

"NO.No" Hughes objected. She played out the scenario in her head over and over. She gives delivers it by hand, the chief is impressed by his humility and level of professionalism, and that’s the end of it. 

"When will he be free?" 

"Let me check.... next month" 

"You got to be kidding..." Vic shook her head and waiting for the secretary to give her a different answer, but she only got a blank stare. 

"I'll wait here in case there's any openings today" Victoria can feel her blood boiling and tried to calm herself. It's not even close to the picture perfect scenario she had in mind. 

An hour passed by, with loads of personnel going in and out of his office. It was an understatement that the Fire Chief is a busy man. When he finally made it out of his office, he walked by her without acknowledging her. 

"Chief!" Victoria Hughes followed him. 

He couldn't hide his confusion to see her. 

"This is for you" she handed him the envelope. 

"Wait in my office." He walked away, clearly annoyed, leaving her in a state of confusion. She was not prepared to talk to him. While waiting for him in the office, she wanted to call anyone to help her out of the situation. The chief walked in before she dialed Andy's number, sat at his desk, opened the letter in front of her and started reading. 

"Well... this isn't a resignation letter" he chuckled. 

Victoria smiled and shook her head. "I wanted to apologize for what happened" 

"Forcing me to read the apology I see" Ripley corrected her statement while eyeing the letters. 

"I only wanted to hand it to you personally. I did not expect you to read it... now" she smiled nervously. 

"Well this has been awkward" Ripley forced a tight lip smile and got up. His indirect way to end the meeting or whatever that was. In sync, Hughes stood up then hesitated. 

"Sir, may I speak candidly?" Asked Hughes as she stood her grounds, wanting to talk about the captain position. 

"You may" he walked passed her, opened the door to his office and told the secretary to book Ms. Hughes an appointment and closed the door behind him. 

Ripley was still put off by Hughes. On paper, she stood out. Throwing herself selflessly in front of a civilian, who almost got crushed by a car. In person, she had an attitude, emotional and does not respect chain of command. Traits he does not want to deal with in hazardous situations. 

"I am so sorry, Chief. She did not budge for an hour and was adamant on giving you the letter." The secretary came in with her notepad to remind him of his next meeting. The final candidate review for Station 19 captain's position in Station 19 premise. He wanted it to be there, so that the candidates get more of a feel of the place and the team. Also, make Andy Hererra and Jack Gibson to feel the reality of their situation. He did not remove Andy nor Jack following Pruitt's advice, giving them one last chance. 

Only that chance was delayed indefinitely following the Skyscraper incident, where one third of station 19 got injured under his watch. 10 injured and 1 civilian death. 

As much as he tried to manage the expected and unexpected, a girl named Molly died. Seeing her crushed body on the stairwells, he blamed himself for it. Tears started to well up and he moved quickly to not be noticed. 

Only that Victoria Hughes, the one he deemed emotional, accidently bumped into him and seeing his tears. She stepped aside, giving him passage before others could see. 

Her heart dropped when she wondered what caused the robot to cry. Is it one of her teammates? She quickly went down the stairs to see the fire warden that had the task to evacuate the others. A task they gave her so she could be the first one to leave to reunite with her worried mother. 

It wasn't the first time she saw a corpse, but it was the first one she responsible for. Instead of being worried about her fear, she should have had a better handle on the situation. 

Exiting the building, she couldn’t find any of her teammates. Only the Fire Chief giving a brief update to the press. 

Victoria started to doubt if she really has seen him cry. He was back to his robotic self in front of everyone. 

She waited on the sidelines, instinct kicking in, telling her to wait for him. Only for him to signal for her. 

"Hughes! I'm going to the hospital to check-on the injured. Your team are there." 

Victoria's eyes has widened in shock. Her worst nightmare is coming into a reality. "Someone got hurt?" 

"Jack, Travis, Dean, Pruitt" He gave a direct answer while taking off his jacket. 

"I'll take you there" he offered knowing she was in no state to drive or be alone. 

Victoria followed and did not speak the whole way to the hospital with horrible thoughts haunting her. The chief parked his car, and both leapt out of the car, walking quickly to the emergency entrance. Ripley looked behind to find Victoria frozen in her place. 

"Hughes.." He called for her. 

"I don't...I can't" Her voice trembled then she started to cry. "I don't want to go in" She said between each gasp. 

He closed the gap between them. Understanding she was worried about losing one of her family. The chief forgot all protocols, and comforted his employee, by embracing her until she stopped crying. 

"Ready?" He asked. Feeling her heartbeat slowing down. 

She nodded and they made their way in.


	2. Welcome to the team, Captain!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the aftermath of the skyscrapper, the chief informs the team about his decision on who to captain station 19.

Ripley distanced himself when he and Victoria entered the hospital, worrying about others getting a wrong idea about the two. He should maintain professionalism and kept the barrier between him as the chief and his employees. Yet, he forgot all the rules when he saw tears streaming down her worried face. 

"I'll get the update. Go wait with the others in the waiting room" he ordered and kept watching her as she made her way to the room, where she found Maya pacing. 

"You've been crying! Did you hear something?!" Maya noticing Victoria's puffy eyes and started to panic. 

She shook her head, unable to speak, knowing that if she opened her mouth, tears will start to flood again. The chief entered the room and everyone stood up with anticipation for any news. 

"On duty firefighters are all in the clear" he said with a faint smile and everyone erupted in a cheer. 

He allowed them to celebrate for a moment then reminded them that they are still in a hospital. Everyone should leave and only first level relatives can remain. The firefighters started to leave; however, Victoria followed Ripley. 

"Vic. Where are you going?" Maya asked, but Victoria's mind was preoccupied with one question. 

"What about Pruitt?" She asked, noticing he selected his words carefully when sharing the news. 

"He's in an induced coma. The doctor's stay he's stable.. So don't worry. Andy is with him and only blood relatives are allowed in." Ripley answered after a moment of hesitation. 

Seeing the news hitting them like a ton of bricks, he continues saying "I need you two to go home. Rest. I need you, Maya, to take charge of the station tomorrow until... I figure things out" he stopped himself before saying a replacement captain. That is the last thing they need to hear right now. 

The two whipped their tears and took his request to heart. 

"We will not let you down, sir." Said Maya and tugged at Victoria to follow. Outside, she offered Victoria to stay at her place. "Or do you prefer to stay with the chief?" She teased. 

"What?" Victoria was caught by surprise. 

"Come on! I saw the tear stain on his shirt." Maya connected the dots when the two came into the waiting room fairly at the same time. "And he was trying to avoid looking at you the whole time" 

Victoria did notice he wasn't looking at her while he spoke to them in the hallway. He was distancing himself. She recognized that kind of behavior. She was guilty of icing out those she wasn't interested in and it disheartened her to realize it is being used with her so soon after that moment. She rarely cried, and it scared her how easily she was comforted by his embrace. 

"I was crying at the entrance and he was there... Shit, I stained the chief's shirt!" She explained and tried to play it off. 

The two laughed at her reaction and headed back to Maya's house. Too exhausted to change, they slept with their clothes on. 

The next day, Dean was cleared to come back to work. He was overheated from being trapped in the elevator and luckily made it out. 

The day moved on slowly. They were not called for any emergencies, so Maya delegated routine check-ups to keep the team preoccupied until a new distraction made its way to their doorstep. The chief in casual attire. 

"We barely recognized you, chief" Ben said warmly as he shook his hand. 

"Oh this" he looked down at his jeans "The mayor forces us to wear normal to act normal" 

"Humble brag" Maya whispered to Victoria and both smiled slyly. 

"Well... I have an announcement to make. Before that, glad to see you back Dean." 

"Glad to be" Dean nodded. 

"Gibson and Travis will be recovering and the doctors said they'll need over 6 months of recovery. Andy submitted her resignation, wanting to stay at her father's side. I rejected it. She'll be on leave until she feels she can comeback." 

The team stayed silent, fearing the next announcement that he is leading up to it. A new captain? New team? 

"The captain position for station 19 will be on pending status until further notice. I will be acting as captain as part of a program Human Resources has been pushing for some time... wanting me to rotate between stations to get to know the staff and I've decided to start with yours first. I hope you will not view me as a subpar outsider." Ripley finalized this announcement, enjoying their shocked faces. 

Victoria laughed loudly, seeing he used her words against her. 

Ben quickly jumped in to coverup and said "Welcome to the team .. Captain Chief" and so did everyone repeat the same words. 

"Welcome to the team, Captain Chief"


	3. Insubordinate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ripley annouces that he is taking over, the Captain Chief starts his duties and faces insubordination in an unexpected way.

The team did not buy his story about it being Human Resources' idea and thought that this is his way of micromanaging them; however, Victoria understood that this was Ripley's way of delaying the decision of choosing a captain for Station 19. 

"We should stay on our game" Maya told everyone in their secret meeting and took it as a challenge. It's her time to shine, but she has to keep her hearing problem a secret. Not wanting anything to affect her chance to impress the new boss, who was still busy unpacking. 

The team anticipated the new captain to join for lunch; however, they could hear his office phone ringing nonstop. 

"One of us should invite him" Dean suggested to the team, who decided to wait for Ripley. His heart started to sink as he watches his food get colder by the second. 

Maya teased Victoria about bringing lunch to his office. Still suspecting something is going on between them regardless of her endless denies. 

'Clearly not interested' she thought to herself and started looking at her contact list, searching for a distraction. 

The doors to the pantry opens and Ripley made his way in, seating himself at the empty chair next to Dean. 

"The captain always sits at the head of the table" Ben, the rookie, chimed in. 

"I don't like rules when it comes to anything related to food" he attempted to lighten the mood, which placed a smile on everyone's face. He then noticed that the food was untouched and came to the realization that they were waiting for him. 

"Were you waiting for me?" He asked, embarrassed by their kindness. 

"We always eat together, that’s our rule" Victoria spoke with a bit of spitefulness. Maybe she was bitter of his disinterest in her. 

"I promise I will abide by it" Ripley said with a smile and started to munch away. Still not maintaining eye contact with her, which pushed Victoria to send a message to one of her exes to meet-up. 

Distraction needed to keep her mind off of him materialized when the station got called in for a fire rescue. 

Ripley assigned each member a role and they were able to control the situation in a short period. They meshed well with the new Captain to their surprise, not knowing he's been keeping a watchful eye on them. He noticed Maya's hearing problem and Victoria flinching at the sight at fire... yet she powered through it and committed to the task at hand. Reading about her heroics and seeing it was a mesmerizing experience. He keeps checking himself when his eyes start to linger on her for too long, reminding himself that he's her boss and that’s extremely unethical in his mind. 

Back at the station, the team went back to their routine and Ripley locked himself in his office to tackle the pending tasks. Juggling between his roles as Chief and Captain was hard, but tough challenges always excited him. When he checked the time, his shift has ended hours ago. He decided to stay the night at the station and headed to the locker room for a warm shower. Before heading back to his office to sleep on the sofa, he heard commission coming from the breakroom and went to check on it. He found Victoria sitting in front of the TV. 

"You're still up?" He asked from the doorway. 

"Oh! You scared me! No one is usually up at this time" she said, trying to appear calm and straightening her posture. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. What are you watching?" he tried to hold back his laughter. 

"Don't judge. It's a Japanese game show. The contestants have to find items in the room that are made out of chocolate" she explained. 

"That’s...new" he stopped himself from saying weird. He walked into the breakroom and sat on the adjacent sofa. He kept watching and started to point out the things he thinks are made out of chocolate. It turned into a scoring game between them and Victoria won. 

"You have a good eye" Ripley complemented her, trying not to sound like a sore loser. 

"Add it to my resume" she joked 

"I can make that official" he offered jokingly as he forced himself to get up, knowing he had a long day ahead of him... but he was having so much fun with her. It felt easy and comfortable to be around her when he's being himself and not the boss. 

Following the chief's first day, their schedule did not allow for them to meet again in the breakroom alone. When the day has finally came, they could see the delight on each other's face. 

"Any weird shows you're watching these days?" he asked, placing himself on the side sofa, while she took the center sofa. 

"They're not weird, and yes" she answered with a smile. She explained about the concept of the show and they watched silently. Both preoccupied with their thoughts for one another. 

Ripley turned to speak, only to find Dean watching them from the doorway. 

"Is the TV too loud?" Ripley asked 

Dean grunted and closed the door. 

"He's a light sleeper" Victoria explained 

"What else should I know about him?" Ripley asked, finding an excuse to look at her. 

"He's a teddy bear. Looks mean, but all fluffy from the inside" she answered 

"What about you?" He asked as he turned his whole body to face her. 

"I'm no teddy bear" she joked and saw that he was still waiting for an answer. "Insubordinate" she recalled the word he used against her. 

"You do have a problem with authority," he pointed out "but you have more control over it" 

"Maybe it's because I like whose in charge now" Victoria knew she was pushing the envelope and waited for his reaction. 

"Does that mean I'm not a subpar stranger getting the keys to the castle?" He repeated her exacts words. 

"I was waiting for you to say that" Victoria got up, went to the fridge then took out a box then handed it to him as she stood cross armed in front of him "Here you go" 

He opened it only to find a chocolate shaped key, and he was loss for words. He was truly touched for her way of accepting him in her own cheeky way. 

"I'm only here temporarily. You'll have to adapt to whoever will take over next" he spoke directly in his robotic chief voice. 

Victoria knew what he was doing. Distancing himself again, and placing his title as chief above all else. 

"That will be tomorrow's problem" Victoria shrugged off his advice. "And so is this" She placed her hand on her face and leaned to bridge the gap between their lips. Victoria wanted to know if he truly wanted her and could feel her heart beating in her throat. Anticipating his response. 

The kiss caught Ripley by surprise at first. His first reaction was to pull her closer to deepen kiss. It started with hesitation, then grew bolder with every second that passed. Feeling they are dangerously teetering at the edge of something they cannot turn back from, Ripley pulled back. 

"Sorry" he apologized for not having a better control over his urges "We cant...I'm--" 

"your boss's boss's boss... I know." Victoria cut him off, unable to mask her disappointment. 

He knew it will be a HR nightmare if they ever find out, but he couldn’t say no to her. Not when he could feel the warmness of her body and never wanting to let go of that feeling. 

Victoria embarrassed by the rejection got up, only to find him holding on to her hand. He stood, towering over her and cupped her face. Wanting her to look into his eyes when he speaks. 

"Ever since we first clashed that day, I knew you were something special. I've been fighting the feeling ever since, and I don’t want to anymore...But--"


	4. The next best thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the chief appointed himself as captain of station 19, the bond with Victoria Hughes became closer and unaviodable. They two agreed to take the first step towards building a relationship with one condition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow my crackship seems to sail! Just saw episode 2x01 and their scene together about rules and the right decision was everything. I did touch on that in the beginning, but now Ripley is bending the rules for her.

"Ever since we first clashed that day, I knew you were something special. I've been fighting the feeling ever since, and I don’t want to anymore...But we have to keep it a secret. Until we can give this a real chance--” Ripley concluded, knowing that it sounded sleezy, and desperately hoping that she would understand that his intentions are pure. He could get immediately suspended for having a relationship with a direct subordinate and Victoria agreed to his condition. 

They kept it professional in front of their coworkers. Vic took a further step by bickering about him behind his back; however, only one recuperated was Dean. He knew something was off. Following that night he saw them in the break room, they rarely talked or looked at each other. His gut tells him something had happened and he kept a watchful eye on them. 

“You have to yell at me. I think he’s on to us.” Victoria whispered to Ripley when she found him at the pantry room fixing himself a sandwich. 

“How?” Ripley was dumbfounded. Since that night, they set a date, which kept getting pushed back due from fires and urgent meetings, until today. 

“I think we were too careful” Victoria said correctly. They needed to be more casual with each other, so Ripley fixed her a sandwich and they sat together for the first time in public. 

The two were nervous even though they were not doing anything other than eating. Was it a bad idea that they will be having dinner later on today if they are feeling this way now? 

Ripley started talking about work to fill the silence, but it was evident. It’s awkward. 

\-- 

Victoria was now back home, trying to find the right clothes to wear for the date with Ripley. He selected a restaurant an hour outside the city, so no one they know could see them. 

‘That’s how mistresses must feel like’ she thought to herself. Insulted and excited at the same time. 

Vic dusted off only pair of high heels to go with the red short dress. She stopped herself before leaving when she caught her reflection in the mirror. This was not her style. She changed into a top and pants then headed her way to the restaurant. The only problem was, the restaurant had a dress code and didn’t allow her in. Embarrassed, she asked the head waiter to pass the message to her date since they didn’t exchange numbers. 

Ripley came out of the restaurant wearing a suit and tie with a guilty look “Did I forget to tell you about the dress code?” 

“No,” she shook her head “It’s just not my style” 

“Me neither. I just wanted to impress you” He admitted by taking off his tie. “How about the next best thing” He pointed at the bar across the street. 

They walked there, and it wasn’t jampacked. They were able to find a table and sat across each other. 

Still awkward. 

Ripley again started to talk about to fill the silence then stopped himself. Work is what is making it awkward. It reminded them of the risk and halted any natural development. 

“Lets not talk about work. I’m merely Lucas Ripley” he introduced himself extending his hand. 

“I’m Victoria Hughes” she smiled and shook his hand. “So what are you doing in this part of town. Do you usually bring your dates here?” 

“I used to live here before moving to the city. That’s were my family always go to celebrate...and I thought it was fitting for us” He answered truthfully. 

Victoria smiled shyly. He felt that he is a genuine guy and wanted to learn more about him. 

They started to talk about their past, families, school life, everything... not realizing that the bar was about to close. 

"Wow time flew by” Victoria got up first thinking of her early shift. 

They stepped outside and he walked her back to her car. They talked more, but in truth she was waiting for him to kiss her. 

“We have to do this again” he insisted. 

Vic became impatient and pulled him closer by his collar and placed her lips on his. He leaned into the kiss, opening his mouth and letting her tongue in. His body pressed hers against the car. They kisses until the two stopped to catch their breath. 

“You’ll have to let me kiss you first one day” He said between pants. 

This became their routine. To come in separate cars, meet at the bar they named NBT next best thing, and Ripley initiating every kiss. 

It was the only thing the two looked forward to when they were able to manage setting a date with their hectic schedules. 

Everything thing was going smoothly until Dean confronted Victoria one day. 

“I know about you and Ripley” he said. 

“What are you talking about?” she scrunched her face in disbelief and tried her best to act surprise. 

“This is not right! Is he forcing you?” Dean asked, certain that she has been tricked somehow. The two never made sense in his mind. 

Victoria dropped the act and with a straight face told Dean to mind his business. 

Dean was bewildered by her indirect confirmation and knew that he had to act. How could he file a complaint against the chief?


	5. Doing the right thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thinking that he's protecting Victoria, Dean reports the Chief.

“I’m doing the right thing” Dean told himself, looking down at the letter he is holding. He decided to send an anonymous letter to the head of human resources about the Chief’s misconduct. Dean knew his actions will cause trouble, but if it meant keeping them apart then so be it. He dropped the letter and didn't expect the quick response. 

The team were having their lunch when the head of HR came in. Ripley greeted her with a concerned look. It’s never a good sign seeing her in an unscheduled visit. Victoria gave him the heads up about Dean knowing about them, and he quickly concluded that he told on them. 

“This is an unexpected. What’s the matter?” Ripley asked innocently. 

“I want to speak to you about a subject that was brought to my attention” she spoke swiftly. 

Ripley lead the way to his office and anticipated getting scolded. 

“This letter was addressed to me. Good thing I opened it and not my secretary; otherwise, you would have become the news source for the year.” She handed him a letter for him to read. 

The letter only named Ripley sleeping with a female firefighter and that was it. Dean didn’t name Victoria. 

“Tell me it’s not true, Lucas.” She crossed her hands.

“Do you really want me to dignify this with a response?” Ripley retorted, acting disgusted, but she wasn’t buying it. 

Mrs. Carlile knew the scandalous nature of the situation, but she found herself wanting to help him out of it. Knowing him, he has always been a stickler for rules, yet he has broken this one. She could tell whoever the ‘female firefighter’ is, she meant something to him for acting recklessly. 

“Let’s say that in a scenario, where the chief got involved with direct subordinate, I have to get separate recorded statements from the involved parties and a signed love contract. On top of that, your role as captain has ended today, so she won’t be your direct subordinate anymore.” 

“Recorded statement? Is that necessary?” he interrupted her then corrected himself “hypothetically speaking” 

“Even if you trust her, the media will spin it every way and you will lose your job and reputation. This will help you and us. That’s my condition or I’ll report it to the board and you’ll get a really early retirement. You have two hours to decide.” 

The HR manager left, paralyzing Ripley with a hard decision. He couldn’t ask Victoria to do all of that for him. To answer questions about the nature of their relationship on record was a big ask. They just started dating and now she's getting sucked into the rules and posibbly a PR shitstorm. 

He heard knocking on the door, and Victoria came in and behind her was the HR Manager. 

“Chief, I have agreed to her condition” Victoria spoke in a professional tone. Vic confessed everything to Mrs. Carlile and wanted to do anything to help Ripley. It was not a big ask for her. Not if it meant japordizing his career. 

Mrs. Carlile locked the door behind her, placed a paper in front of Victoria then started recording using her phone. 

“My name is Brandi Carlile and I am the head of human resources for the Seattle Fire Department. Today is October 8th 2018 9:00 AM, I have discovered an accusation of Fire Chief Ripley and Firefighter Victoria Hughes being in a relationship. I have confronted the two and this us their statements. Before we start, do you two consent to my recording of your statements.” 

“Yes” the spoke in unison. Victoria reached for his hand, seeking comfort in his touch. 

“Are you two in a consenting relationship?” Mrs. Carlile asked. 

“Yes” They both answered 

“Did Chief Ripley force you into any uncomfortable situation?” Mrs. Carlile asked. 

“No” Victoria kept her answers short. 

“Do you feel that you couldn't say no to starting a relationship with Chief Ripley, because of his job status?” She asked. 

“No” she answered truthfully. Ripley even knew the answer before she spoke. Victoria was the strongest person he had ever encountered. She always spoke her mind and didn’t care who heard it. She did it twice to him. 

“Who pursued the relationship?” Mrs. Carlile asked. 

“Me. I kissed him upstairs... around 2 am” Victoria’s blood started to boil, but tried her best to maintain it for him. 

“Did you have any sexual intercourse within any Fire Department premises?” Mrs. Carlile asked. 

“No, we haven’t reached that stage.” Ripley answered and felt his cheeks burn. 

“I have prepared a love contract requiring your signatures. Please read it, contact your lawyers if need be, and sign it if you’d like to pursue a relationship. The only addition from the standard format of the contract is that I will review and approve your career advancements instead of the Chief.” Mrs. Carlile concluded. 

The two didn’t hesitate to sign the contract. 

Mrs. Carlile stopped recording then candidly spoke the words she was withholding the whole time. “Congratulations, you two are a couple. Let's go Chief, we have to announce that you are leaving Station 19 to continue your rotation experiment. After that you can do whatever you want, but not within the fire department premises” 

Ripley followed Mrs. Carlile as she gathered the team and made the announcement on his behalf. During the time, he kept his eyes on Victoria. He couldn’t look away.  
That moment, he knew that he loved her more than anything. He was willing to risk his career to keep her out of the corporate madness. He never felt that way towards anyone. 

Victoria wasn’t the only that noticed the look. 

“What did you do?” Maya asked, noticing that she was in the Chief’s office with HR. 

“You’ll know soon” Victoria promised and tried to hide her smile. She was excited to move to the next step in their relationship. 

She matched his gaze and neither one looked away.


	6. Ten years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After HR gave Vic and Ripley a way out, Ripley wants to celebrate.

That day, the two met at their bar knowing that the other will be there. Ripley was always first to arrive and waited impatiently for Victoria to arrive. 

When she finally came in, he got up and greeted her with a heartfelt embrace then grabbed her hand and took her outside the bar. 

“Where are we going?” She asked, finding herself excited by his spontaneity. 

“I want to celebrate” he said still pulling at her towards the prestigious restaurant he wanted to talk her on their first date. 

“Wait... I’m not dressed properly to go in” Victoria objected, pulling her hand away. 

Ripley only smiled at her and reached out his hand. “Trust me” he said. 

She took his hand and followed him into the restaurant. No one except for the head water was inside the restaurant. He greeted them and showed them the way to their table. 

Vic was stunned. Did Ripley do all of this for her? 

They sat facing each other, his eyes piercing through her. 

“How did you know I was going to come?” She teased. 

“I’ve booked the restaurant for a week just in case” he admitted with a shy smile. It knew it did not sound smooth, but all he wanted was to impress her. 

“What you did today meant a lot to me” the words of gratitude spilled out of him. 

“Don't thank me! This all happened, because of me” 

“You’re right” he jokingly agreed. 

She felt he was holding something back. “Say it” she encouraged him to speak and a small voice in her head said this was too good to be true. 

He was a bit taken back. He wasn’t ready to say it. 

“I haven’t been dating since my divorce... you know that I was married once, right?” He dropped the bomb before the actual bomb. 

Her high arched eyebrows answered his question. “When was the divorce?” 

"10 years ago” 

Her high arched eyebrows even higher. It scared her how little she knows about him 

“I’ve been married to the job for too long.” He joked trying to lighten the mood, but he could feel something changed in her. 

Throughout the dinner, he could feel her being timid. It ended quickly and outside the restaurant, they walked to their parked cars. 

There was a pause to their usual routine of saying goodbye multiple times between make outs. 

“Did I come too strong?” Ripley asked, searching for answers, when Victoria turned her face away when he leaned in for a kiss. 

She only shook her head, not knowing why she’s pulling herself away from him. 

“Tell me” he spoke softly, his faces inches away from hers. 

“I’m not ready. I’m not...” she started to cry. She never felt this way. To not know a person and be in love with him. That feeling shook her to the core. 

He coddled her face, whipping the tears that started to come down her face. “Victoria Hughes, I’ll wait for you” 

They went their separate ways, and weeks past until they crossed paths again when Ripley brought a New Captain to Station 19. Jack “The Bulll’ Sullivan picked by Pruitt to straighten up the team. 

“We’ll do that later” Sullivan dismissed the pleasantries of learning the team’s name and went full charge ahead with inspections. 

During all that, Ripley tried his best not to look at her direction. He was still hurt that she stopped coming to their bar. Cut him out easily out of her life. 

But it wasn’t easy for her. Not one bit. 

Victoria never sustained a relationship. She always casually dated and never shed a tear over any of her exes. Love was not essential in her life. Until that day when she threw caution to the wind and fessed up everything to the head of HR, not caring that there might be repercussions. She was ready to blame it all on herself to save Ripley’s job. 

She couldn’t wrap her head around seeing herself acting that way for someone she knew for a short time. 

It scared her. 

Now seeing him at the station avoiding eye contact, she was lost in thought. 

Will he take her back? It’s been too long. 

The chief started to leave when he was assured that all is in order with the new captain. Hughes wanted to follow him, but the new Captain didn’t even allow them a moment’s rest. 

Only during lunch break, she snuck away and called Ripley’s phone, but he didn’t answer. 

A day has passed and he still did not call back.


	7. You're married to one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ripley doesn't answer Victoria's calls and she accidently finds out

Victoria thought Ripley has moved on when he did not return her call. Victoria did not give up and sent him a text “NBT” and waited for him at their bar that they labeled “The next best thing”. 

Days have passed and he did not show up. She felt embarrassed when the bar staff noticed her missing partner and started asking about him. 

“He’s just busy with work” Victoria falsely explained. She couldn’t stand their pity eyes anymore and left the bar. Saying goodbye to the possibility that could have been. 

The next day, DeLuca, a doctor from GreySloan fixed her up with a firefighter from Station 23. Pretty face with no substance. It was fun and casual. Something she needed, to distract herself from thinking about Ripley. 

Victoria was assigned the aid car, and after a fire incident occurred, she had to transport the injured to GreySloan, where she saw the cute doctor again. He was heading out with his colleagues and asked her to join. She accepted since it was towards the end of her shift, so she asked Travis to cover for her as she took out the duffle bag from the car and changed her clothes to a top and jeans  

“How do I not know about this bag?” Travis commented. 

“I always come prepared” she said confidently as she started undressing inside the aid car then wore the clothes she prepared for date emergencies. 

DeLuca, a gentlemen, waited for her and made small talks until they entered Joe’s bar. There weren’t any sparks between them, but she still decided to hang. Something caught her attention. A tall blond man gulping one drink after the other. Forgetting everything, she got up midst conversation and walked over to him.  

“Lucas” she spoke his name, concerned seeing his defeated stature. 

It was the first time seeing him drunk like this. He slurring his words  and nothing was making sense. She paid his tab, called an uber and helped get up. On their way out, they bumped into Miranda and Ben. 

Ben could not comprehend what he was seeing. The chief and Victoria! Victoria and the chief! 

Miranda got irritated by Ben and barked orders at him “Help carry him into the car” 

He assisted and watched the two get into an uber and drive away. 

“That's the chief of the fire department and my colleague!” Ben said alarmingly. 

"I know who he is. I guess he did not take the news well” Miranda said. 

Ben was preoccupied to hear what she just said and started saying how wrong it was. "The chief and Vic!" Vic and the chief!

“Get off of your high horse, Benjamin. You’re married to one. Me, a chief” Miranda dismissed her husband and went inside to get herself a drink. 

* * *

Next day, Lucas Ripley got up in an unfamiliar room with a hangover. Rubbing his head, he walked out of the room to find Victoria sleeping on the couch in her living room.  

He couldn’t remember how he got here. All he remembers is the doctor sharing news that he needs brain surgery to remove a tumor. It scared him and shook his core. Ripley walked aimlessly and went into a bar and that was it. 

He was avoiding Victoria Hughes, and now he’s standing in her living room. His eyes studied every inch of her face, before heading to leave. Ripley decided since the day he discovered the tumor that he will not be involved with anyone until his recovery. 

‘Goodbye’ she gently whispered and walked about of her apartment without looking back.  

Making his way out, he used his phone to search for his way home, only to grabbed from behind. 

“You’re leaving” Victoria clearly was fuming. She got up on the sound of the door shutting behind him. 

“You’re in your pjs” he commented. 

“You promised you'd wait” Victoria shouted, clearly hurt by his actions. 

“I did and I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep my promise” he apologized, but did not want to share the reason. 

“What happened to you yesterday?” she asked the first question on her mind.  

"Lets talk inside” he wanted to end the public display and they walked back into the apartment.  

“I wanted to avoid this. All of this.” He said from the doorway. 

“Whatever you are going through. You don’t have to do it alone” Victoria calmed down and started to approach Ripley. 

“It’s my problem. Not yours, Victoria!” he said, wanting to push her away. Yet he couldn’t when she closed the space between them and started to caress this face. She knew something has frazzled him. 

He kissed the palm of her hand and thought long and hard about what he’ll say next.  

“If you care for me then let me go” he said, and it sounded more like a plea. 

“I love you and I won’t” she responded with a kiss. 

He was shocked by her confession. It was the opposite of what he wanted and precisely the thing he needed the most.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My ship is sailing yall! How cute were they in 2x04? I admit i've rewatched the scene a million times.


	8. Drawing circles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ripley has two choices: Walk away with his sickness or be with Victoria?

Victoria leaned in to kiss Lucas, and his body tensed up. He wanted her with every inch of his body, but he made a promise to keep everyone at arm’s length. His objections stopped when she pressed her lips against his and sinking back against the wall. He pulled her closer until their chest touched, parting his lips to get a better taste of her.  

Victoria unbuckled his pants, but his hands stopped her.

“Victoria, please” he objected between pants.

She backed away, talking off her top, hoping to tease him. Victoria could see the trick worked. He was hungry for her, yet he still did not move an inch from the doorway.

Victoria started to strip, bearing it all to him.

It was a first time he saw her naked body. They have intentionally avoided having sex to avoid complicating their situation even further.  He pressed her lips, knowing that he had a choice to make. To go out of the door and keep his promise or be with her.

Victoria reached for him and his legs moved before he commanded it. She met him half way and they locked lips passionately. His hands moved from her neck, along her spine and onto her back. Exploring new places he has never dared to touch before. 

Victoria pushed him onto the couch and started to kiss his neck, while unbuckling his belt. This time he did not resist. The two maintained eye contact until Vic closed her eyes and let out a moan when he entered her. 

* * *

“Oh, I see swagger, but no bragging” Travis couldn’t stop from commenting on Vic when she came into the pantry. Unable to mask her enjoyment while she played her sexy time with Lucas in her head.

Everyone reacted to the news asking for more details.

“Is it the doctor?” Travis asked, remembering that she went on a date with him last night.

Ben and Victoria exchanged looks, and he did not dare expose her secret. Her life, her choices. That what Miranda drilled into him.

“Yeah” Victoria lied and tried to act cool about it.

“It’s not like you not to announce it from the roof top” Maya spoke suspiciously, then she gasped when she came to the realization “You looooveee him~!!!”

“No!” Victoria wanted to shut down the conversation. Victoria usually blabs out all the details of her affair to whoever was listening, but this one. This one was special. She wanted to keep it all to herself. 

Victoria did not think the lie through since Ben and her went to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and crossed paths with DeLuca.

“Where did you disappear to?” Deluca asked with a bit of annoyance that she ditched him in front of everyone.

Victoria only answered with wide eyes that of everyone to have her lie exposed, it would be Ben.

She could feel Ben’s eyes on her and she tried to avoid it until she cracked.

"Talk before you explode on me" Victoria crossed her arms, waiting to embrace whatever came next.

"You and the chief!” Ben let out his reaction he has been holding back when he saw them together the other night.

Victoria nodded and tears started to stream down her face unexpectedly. 

“Did he do something to you?” Ben quickly jumped into conclusions, worrying about her.

"Stop thinking I’m this defenseless woman that needs protecting” she punched his shoulder out of frustration. 

“Tell me what you need?” Ben offered his support and Victoria accepted it. 

“I have this feeling I can’t shake off. I’m so afraid I'd lose him” Her admission caused more tears to stream down her face.

“That’s what being in love with” He concluded and shared about the troubles in his marriage with Miranda, because of that feeling alone. 

“I never felt this for anyone and I hate that he doesn’t trust me with a secret he’s been keeping from me” Hughes concerns started to pour out.

“Did you tell him that?” Dean asked.

“I did. So many times, but he won’t say it. I don’t know what it is.” Hughes said, trying to regain her composure.

Ben suddenly started to remember something that he did not pick up on. Miranda recognized Ripley at the bar and said he seems to have taken the news badly. They have definitely met.

He looked over at Victoria wondering if he should share the new discovery or honor patient-doctor confidentially.  He saw himself in her situation and knew that he’d want to know. That was his justification for telling her what he knows.

The world around her stopped when she realized her fears came to fruition. 

‘He’s sick’

She called him, but he did not answer.

She texted him, but he did not respond.

He mentioned that he was going to be in a meeting and won’t be able to respond until night time, but she did not care. She called again and again. Knowing she was acting crazy. All she just wanted to hear his voice.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Everyone at the station noticed her low demeanor, and Captain Sulivan tried to have her snap out of it by assigning her cleaning duties and she accepted it without objection.

Vic lost herself in the mindless tasks. Luckily, they were not called in for rescue. She wasn’t in the right mind set. 

Her phone rang, and she immediately ditched everything, and saw that he was calling.

“Victoria?” an unfamiliar voice spoke

“What is it?” she asked, wondering why someone is calling from his phone.

“Lucas wants to see you. He just came out of surgery. I’m Lucas’s sister, Eva” her voice broke when she introduced herself. 

Victoria threw everything and walked out of the station without excusing herself and headed to the hospital wearing her uniform. At the entrance, a long blonde lady greeted her with an embrace.

“I’m sorry to have called you like that. The asshole had a nurse after he went into surgery. Come, let's go to him. It will take time for him to wake.”

"Is he ok?” Victoria asked, disregarding any kind of formalities and just wants to know the answer

“Yes” Eva answered, and lead Victoria to his room, where he was still unconscious.

They sat in silence, looking at him, searching for any kind of motion to show that he made it back.

Victoria started drawing circles on the palm of his hand, hoping that by the 100th time, he’d open his eyes and smile at her.

“He must care for you. He hasn’t told the rest of my sisters about it.” Eva spoke, finally breaking the silence they’ve endured being in a room with a lifeless body.

Victoria kept drawing. Remembering that he once told her that he was the youngest and only boy out of 3 sisters. He always had a smile on his face when he spoke about them.

“Why didn’t he tell the rest?” Victoria asked, wanting to shift her focus a bit for her sanity.

“He’s always been like that. When he got divorced, we learned through his ex-wife's Instagram account through a cryptic inspirational post. I had no clue. He always kept his shit private” Eva shook her head at him.

“It’s okay not to be okay, even if it means giving up” he finally spoke, which confused Victoria. What was he talking about?

“You remember what that bitch wrote. Hahaha your brain works better than before!” Eva started to laugh loudly.

“Stop laughing like a walrus” Lucas winced then shifted his eyes towards Victoria. He smiled, but was too exhausted to reach his hand to touch her tear stained face. 

“I’m sorry for not telling you” He apologized, hating that he had to lie to her for the past 2 days about his scheduled operation.

“I’ll punch you once you’re fully recovered” she joked, but also meant it.

Eva stepped out, leaving the two alone. She was happy to see her brother with someone that is refreshingly truthful and upfront. He needs someone that checks him once in a while.

The two did not even notice Eva has left the room and kept talking until he dozed off.  Victoria stayed by his bedside until her phone vibrated.

It’s Maya.

Looking at the time, her shift has started and she wasn’t at the station.

Victoria texted her saying “Family emergency. Need a week off. Will explain later”

If there were repercussions, she would accept it. 

Nothing would move her away from the person she loves. 


	9. My Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas Ripley remains in the hospital and gets two unexpected visitors

Victoria came to the hospital every chance she got. To her frustration, he was always unconscious or barely responsive, which caused her to become more emotional.

“I want to hear your voice. I miss you.” She confessed while she grabbed his hand and caressed her face against it.

Then someone walked in. Captain Jack Sullivan, Lucas’s former best friend.

She was too emotionally drained to react or say anything to him. Sullivan on the other hand, was taken back by it. He never expected Ripley, the man who followed rules to a tee, would be in a relationship with a subordinate. Knowing Ripley, he and Hughes make sense, but still.

“I uhh heard from Lucas’s mom that he had surgery and I came to check up on him. I’ll come in another time” He explained, then left the flowers he brought no the bed stand.

“Sir, can I take a leave of absence starting from tomorrow? I want to by his side” Vic asked, hoping that he’d understand her situation.

Sullivan noticed that she was unfocused lately at work and switched shifts with others disrupting the schedule he laid out for his team. Now it made sense. He knew firsthand the feeling of losing a loved one and wishing they spent more time with them. He did not want to deprive her of that, so he nodded silently to her request and left them together.

Victoria spent the rest of the day by his side, until he finally opened his eyes.

“Victoria” he said in his hoarse voice.

She leaned in to softly kiss him on his lips and sat on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Victoria asked while playing with his beard.

“I had better days” he attempted to joke.

“Sullivan was here. He said your mom told him.”

It took Lucas a moment to digest the news. Sullivan blamed Ripley for the death of his wife, and never wanted to have anything to do with him.

 “He brought flowers” Vic pointed out, which caused Lucas to smile. Maybe there was still hope to salvage their friendship.

Then he remembered something else that almost caused him to jump out of the hospital bed.

“Wait—did you say that my mother told him?! Damn Eva, I told her not to tell them. Now I’m sure they’ve cancelled their vacation and are coming back” Lucas panicked.

“That’s family” Vic said, not understanding his distress.

“My family is very controlling and overprotective. Its better you stay away whenever they’re here” He warned her.

“Nothing will move me from here” Vic replied, enjoying Lucas being worried for her in his state.

She knew she was falling for him with every passing moment and her love got tested by the Mom.

Yes, she was controlling.

Yes, she was overprotective.

Victoria was pushed aside by the mother, so that she was the sole supporter for her son. Yet Vic stayed put. She maintained this tight smile she wore for the mother whenever she spoke of Lucas and his ex-wives.

Ripley told her about one failed marriage. It was news to he got married twice!

“Oh, I see that you didn’t know that. That’s interesting that he did not share that kind of important part of his life with you. How long have you been dating?” the mother latched on.

“Not long enough” Vic said the words she knew the mother wanted to hear. Feeling hurt and defeated, she excused herself and left the room.

Vic collected herself outside of GreySloan and reminded herself of the promise she made about staying.

She went back into the warzone, faced the dragon and waited for sleeping beauty to wake. That’s how she occupied her mind while the mother continued talking.

Finally, he woke up. “Ma, you didn’t have to come?”

“Hush now. You think I wouldn’t come check on my only son”

“I have Victoria. I guess you met her before I could have introduced her to you” He answered, then stretching his hand for hers. Victoria grabbed his hand for much needed support.

“We did” The mother looked unimpressed, “Maggie sends her regards. She’s worried about you”

Lucas groaned at the mentioning of this 1st ex-wife’s name. “Mom, Don’t!”

“I’m just delivering a message” she spoke innocently then said her goodbye when visiting hours ended.

“Sorry about that” Lucas apologized to Victoria before she also headed out.

“It’s my first time reaching the mom stage. I never got here and its as bad as I expected” she joked to lighten the mood. All she cared about was him, no one else.

“The boss level will be a difficult one” Lucas warned her again

“Good thing for you, I like winning” she said with a smirk. She debated with herself if she should ask about the other marriage he did not speak about.

“You want to know about Maggie?” Lucas knew that was preoccupying her mind. “She was my high school sweetheart that I married. We were kids. We did not know what we were doing and eventually we grew up and decided to go our separate ways”

“It sounds like she wants you back” Victoria shifted in her place.

“No, that’s my mom’s wish. Not mine. Mine is standing right in front of me”


End file.
